Smugglers outsmart customs officials

Nellore: Notwithstanding the seizure by the directorate of revenue intelligence several times, smuggling of red sanders through ports continues unabated. Sources in Customs said the operation takes place in a systematic and clandestine manner.

The exporters load some general consignment of the same weight of the logs they are planning to smuggle, in containers in front of the customs officers at the container freight station or in the presence of central excise officials in godowns.

They transfer the load with red sanders before reaching the port without tampering with the seal. The customs wing fixes a timeframe for the vehicle carrying the container to reach the port to prevent irregularities.

Interestingly, illegal exporters manage to load red sanders within the allotted time on the way to the port without tampering with the seal, by removing the hinges. After which they hide the logs in a secluded place between the CFS and the port and carry out the operation with remarkable speed.

“Who will look at the top and bottom of the container? The officer at the port verifies the seal,” a source said.

In one such incident at Tuticorin Port, the special intelligence and investigation branch of Customs opened a container when it came an hour behind schedule and found 1.9 tonnes of red sanders logs. This was on March 2.

“Customs and DRI keep an eye on exporters who are frequently change the name of companies. Most of the times rivals of the illegal exporters alert the officers on illegal export,” the source said.